The picture to the left is the Woodrow Wilson leaving after being commissioned, underneath the San Francisco Bridge.

This is the brochure that was printed when the WW was commissioned.....dad's listed there! This was her inaugural voyage!

Nestor Lineage

I began researching the Nestor line in the early 2000's. My maiden name is Nestor and I'd always been told I was Polish, so that was good enough at the time. Then, after researching my husbands Welsh line, I decided to dig deeper into my Polish roots.My grandparents had passed away by this time, so I started asking my father and aunts and uncles what they knew about their family. Bit by bit, I was able to compile part of a puzzle, but not much.I learned that my great grandparents came to the US from Poland. They lived in Wilkes Barre, PA and my great grandfather on my paternal side died in a mine disaster in 1919 (Baltimore Tunnel No. 2). My great grandfather on my maternal side died of 'black lung' from working in the coal mines. It was a start...FAMILY TREE RESEARCH:MY PARENTS: Joseph Nestor Jr. (born 1937 in Wilkes Barre, PA - died 2011) married Patricia Joyce Greer (born 1937 in Philadelpha, PA). Joseph is the son of Joseph Nestor and Stephanie Ejsmont. His siblings are; Caroline, Raymond, John, Christine. Joseph and Patricia had 3 children: Michael, Joseph, Kathleen.MY GRANDPARENTS: Joseph Nestor (born 9/16/1914 in Luzerne County, PA, died 9/17/2001 in Melbourne, FL) married (about 10/1934 in Wilkes Barre, PA) Stephanie Ejsmont (born 7/12/1912 in Wilkes Barre, PA, died 12/2/1994 in Niagara Falls, NY). Stephanie and Joseph had 5 children: Caroline, Joseph, Raymond, John and Christine. Joseph is the son of Michael Nestor and Pauline Cywinski. He had 2 siblings; Mary (born 1915) and Benjamin (born 3/18/1919, died 5/2/1998). Mary married Edward Klosowski and had 2 children; Edward and Robert. Benjamin married twice; Gladys and Lottie, no children. Joseph served in the US Army during WWII. He was a MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS: Michael Nestor (born about 1887 in Galicia, Austria (at the time of birth was under Austrian rule), died 6/8/1919 in Wilkes Barre, PA coal mine disaster) married (10/13/1913 in Wilkes Barre, PA) Pauline Cywinski (born about 1891, died 11/8/1970 in Luzerne County, PA). Pauline remarried (date TBD) after Michael died to John (Jan) Petroski. He served in WWI in 5 Co, 153 Depot Brigade and was a Private. He has a military grave marker at St. Mary's Maternity Cemetery, W. Wyoming. See picture below. Pauline and John had a son (date TBD) named Edmond.Michael is the son of Wasyl (Vasil) Nestor and Kataryna Barovitz. I haven't been able to find his immigration into the US. He was a tailor. He had 1 sibling; Mariah. Michael died in one of the worst mine explosions in history; Baltimore Tunnel No. 2. His funeral service, along with dozens of others, was held at St. Mary's Maternity Church in West Wyoming (see Mine Disaster page for more information on the coal mine explosion). Pauline's brother Walter Cywinski was a tailor as well, and is believed to have traveled to the US with Michael, then later called for Pauline to come to the US.MY GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS: Wasyl (Vasil) Nestor (born ?, died after 1913 in NY or PA) married Kataryna Barovitz (born 1865 in Rohatyn, Galicia, Austria, died after 1935 in Wilkes Barre, PA). Wasyl came to the US from Rohatyn sometime before 1909. He was a laborer in Buffalo, NY, though his son Michael resided in Wilkes Barre. Kataryna was from Rohatyn, Eastern Galicia (now in Ukraine south of L'viv). Kataryna came to the US for the first time aboard the SS Amerika out of Hamburg, Germany in 1909. She returned at some point to Europe, then came back to the US aboard the SS Amerika in 1911. Both travels she came into Ellis Island Port, NY. Kataryna, also known as Kasha, came to the US on the 2nd trip escorted by Mikolaj Jaryczewski. He was 24, single, was in possession of $70 and was traveling to see "friend, Michal Nestor". His father was listed as Wasyl Jaryczewski. Don't know who this man was. Kataryna was a domestic.

Galicia was a region that spanned from what is now southern Poland just south of Krakow into what is now Ukraine.

The ethnic background of the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia was mixed. Roughly speaking, the western half was predominately Polish and Roman Catholic while the eastern half was predominately Ukrainian and Greek Catholic. This boundary is roughly the border between today’s Poland and Ukraine. Each half, however, had a sizeable minority of the other ethnic group. Additionally, there were Jews, Germans, Slovaks, Rusyns, and Armenians.

Kataryna Barovitz Nestor Travelsaboard the SS Amerika to America!

The ship SS Amerika was billed as the 'most comfortable ship' of it's time. However, only the first class passengers found comfort on this ship. Others suffered in steerage for weeks.

Below is a map of where 'Nestor's are in abundance in Poland. Nazwisko 'Nestor' najczęściej występuje w: (The name 'Nestor' is most common in:)

m. Rzeszów (12)

m. Wrocław (11)

m. Toruń (11)

Bytów (10)

Kluczbork (10)

m. Tarnów (9)

m. Przemyśl (8)

Szczecin (5)

Gdańsk (5)

m. Bydgoszcz (4)

Nestor Family Pictures:

Michael Nestor WWI draft card

﻿﻿﻿This is my great grandmother, Pauline Cywinski (marriage picture is to the right) and her daughter Marja (Mary Ann) Nestor. Marja married Michael Kotlarski in Wilkes Barre, PA. I believe this to be a photo from her wedding. Michael Kotlarski also died in the 1919 mine explosion.﻿﻿﻿

This is how it all got started.....this is a picture of Pauline Cywinski and Michael Nestor. This is their wedding picture. They were married in Wilkes-Barre, PA on October 30, 1913. They were both tailors and Michael worked in the Baltimore Tunnel-5, where he died in a mine explosion in 1919.

Michael Nestor/Pauline Cywinski/John (Jan) Petroski

Finally found! This is the grave of my great grandfather Michael Nestor, his wife Pauline Cywinski Nestor Petroski and her 2nd husband John (Jan) Petroski.

Michael died in 1919 and was buried at St. Mary's Georgetown in a mass grave (with 91 other miners). In 1959 when John Petroski died, Michael was moved to St. Martys Maternity Cemetery in W. Wyoming. All 3 are currently listed in this marker. Pauline died in 1970. There is no family remaining in Wilkes Barre, PA, so I'm now very curious who is maintaining this grave site! Fresh flowers, American Flag and perfectly manicured marker. One thing I did not know is that John Petroski was in WWI (see picture below). During that time, when someone enlisted who was an immigrant, the US promised citizenship! Pretty cool!

In the late mid to late 70's, this Christmas show aired. The donkey who carried Jesus to Bethlehem was named Nestor. The phrase that taunted me in school after this show aired was 'ears Nestor....'. Below is the wonderfully heartwarming show "Nestor the Longeared Donkey".